Search for 5 Russian sailors in Irish Sea suspended Sunday

If the weather is favourable on Monday, the search for sailors will continue

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Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

LONDON, November 28 (Itar-Tass) — The search operation of five Russian sailors from the ship, which wrecked in the Irish Sea off Wales, was suspended on Sunday, there is no hope to find them alive, an officer of the British Coastguard told Itar-Tass.

The British Coastguard knows the names of all Russian sailors from the wrecked Swanland ship, the press service reported.

However, the British Coastguard does not intend to make public their names on Sunday, because they should inform the relatives of Russian sailors first.

The Torbulk Ltd Company, which owned the Swanland, told Itar-Tass that they will make public the names of rescued sailors, which died or got missing, on Monday.

The search-and-rescue operation was suspended at 4.45 p.m. local time (8.45 p.m. Moscow time), an officer of the Wales Coastguard said. He noted that the search operation was suspended over the darkfall and the bad weather.

The Swanland ship was on a voyage from a port on the Welsh coast to the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. The ship was carrying 3,000 tonnes of limestone. The Swanland freighter was caught in a storm overnight to Sunday in the Irish Sea. Amid hurricane winds and high waves the ship sank not far from the Llyn peninsula in north-western Wales.

The Swanland freighter had a crew of eight Russian citizens. Two sailors were found alive shortly after the wreckage. Another sailor was found dead in the sea. Five sailors are reported missing, the search for them continues.

The British Coastguard put it clearly that no one of five Russian sailors, which are reported missing, can be found alive. The ship sank at about 2 a.m. local time (6 a.m. Moscow time) on Sunday. The sailors were wearing wetsuits, which protected them in the cold water. The water temperature was 15 degrees Centigrade in the wreckage area, a lethal overcooling comes after six hours in such conditions, the press service said.

If the weather is favourable on Monday, the search for sailors will continue, the British Coastguard reported.